Forty Four
by Anima Animus
Summary: Humans have always hunted foxes. For Uchiha Sasuke, however, hunting means much more than survival—it means revenge. But now, a deadly encounter leaves him stranded, alone, in the middle of their territory, the Forest of Death. AU. On Hiatus.
1. In Hell

**Author's Notes: **Welcome, readers! I'll keep this short and sweet. In general, this story is an experiment on my part, but I've definitely enjoyed writing this so far. Comments, constructive criticism, and reviews are always appreciated. Feel free to point out any inconsistencies or plot holes; this story's universe is partially of my own design, and I'm prone to forgetfulness. That is all. Enjoy!

**Summary: **Humans have always hunted foxes. For Uchiha Sasuke, however, hunting means much more than survival—it means revenge. But now, a deadly encounter leaves him stranded, alone, in the middle of their territory, the Forest of Death. AU.

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><p><strong>44<strong>

**Chapter 1: In Hell**

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><p>Uchiha Sasuke crouched underneath a thin film of brush, eyes fruitlessly scanning his surroundings for any hint of movement. No matter how hard he tried, however, his gaze could not penetrate the surrounding thickness. No extended line of sight existed; every direction was blocked at some point by another broad trunk. The clearing in front of them glowed slightly brighter than the crevasses of the twisted, age old roots, despite the canopy of massive trees above them, which is why they'd chosen this place. The forest seemed almost undead; the shadows coiled between the trees and shifted as though alive, but the eerie silence precluded the thought that life could flourish in a place as empty as death.<p>

Beside him, his partner Inuzuka Kiba shifted uncomfortably. The slight rustling of his camouflage outfit and the clink of his crossbow caused Sasuke to scowl. He would have reprimanded Kiba if that didn't involve more noise, which was out of the question at this point. Kiba had proven himself more than capable in the past, and he was the only one Sasuke moderately trusted to back him up. Still, they had been waiting for too long to let anything jeopardize their hunt, especially not one as important as this.

Sasuke and Kiba were hunters, and their hunting ground was Area 44, more famously known as the Forest of Death.

As hunters, their job was simple; track, kill, and bring back the wildest creatures the Forest of Death unleashed onto the world. It meant survival, it meant fortune, it meant fame.

And for Sasuke, it meant revenge.

Ten years ago, the greatest demon spawn to ever emerge from the forest, the Nine-Tailed Fox, decimated Konoha. Two days before the attack, Uchiha Shisui carried what was left of his older brother, Itachi—the finest hunter of his generation and the man Sasuke hoped to one day become—back into the village. He was unrecognizable, brutally mutilated. There was no time for a funeral; the next night, the Nine-Tailed Fox rose up out of the Forest of Death, demonic tails lashing the landscape, and descended upon the village.

Among the countless dead was his entire family. Sasuke alone, a terrified ten-year-old boy, had been spared because a smaller fox attempting to carry him off had been stopped by Danzo. However, the rest of the Uchiha, the protectors of the village and the greatest hunters ever known, were wiped from existence in one night. It was only through the combined power of the Uchiha clan, Sarutobi, Danzo—who succeeded Sarutobi after the Third Hokage was killed in the attack—and the other elite hunters of the village that the giant fox was finally brought down. The price they received for his hide could never pay the village back for what it had lost.

And with the death of the Uchiha clan, the village began to spiral down into ruin. Expert hunters didn't come along every day. The current Hokage, Danzo, was working desperately through his private Root division to churn out new hunters as fast as possible, but the forest was growing. No one understood exactly how, but the Forest of Death was alive—much more alive than any other forest he'd heard of—and it seemed to grow every day, matching even the Hokage Tower in height and starting to strangle the outer edges of the village. If nothing was done soon, the Village Hidden in the Leaves would become the Village Smothered by the Leaves.

The Forest of Death, previously bordering the village only on the right side, was beginning to encircle it. The forest grasped outward, attempting to drag itself beyond its previous limits. The fences encircling the perimeter were overgrown as soon as the village looked away, so new fences had to be built frequently in order to provide some small protection for the average villager. Soon, everyone feared that the main road out of the village would be absorbed. At that point, there would be no safe way to travel into or out of the village, and all commerce might grind to a halt. Hunting was their main livelihood, and their prizes were valued throughout the world, but not many would risk their life to obtain what many considered only a commodity.

Aside from the forest beginning to encircle them, the village was backed by a sheer cliff towering even higher than the forest. It had probably been a good idea at the village's founding; if you were backed against a wall, that was one less direction from which an enemy could attack. But now the enemy was nature itself, and nature was a force greater than any human enemy.

However, rumors were circulating that Danzo was working on some secret, village-saving project. The Hokage had always been tight-lipped about his work, but the villagers were beginning to panic. Something had to be said to keep the average citizen from packing up and getting away from the impending disaster zone. However, Sasuke knew Danzo wouldn't lie about something like that, and if it had the potential to control the forest—and the foxes—Sasuke was fully on board.

As Sasuke thought about this, he forced himself not to grind his teeth. Foxes: the scourge of the earth, and the reason he was completely alone. He wasn't completely alone, on the outside. The entire village revered him as one of the greatest hunters of his generation, if not all time. His girlfriend, Haruno Sakura, treated him like he was a god. But he didn't know anyone he truly respected or could actually talk with openly. He respected Danzo as the Hokage, but that was in a purely professional manner. What Sasuke really didn't have was anyone he could really call his friend.

Foxes. He hated them so much. Out of all the creatures the Forest of Death allowed to fester in its shade, foxes were the most devious and the most evil. They preyed on the weak and enjoyed tormenting their prey before they killed it. They also possessed demonic powers, allowing them to wreak havoc with a great deal of impunity. The worst part was that their powers manifested in alarmingly different ways, so a hunter could never be sure what tricks a fox could pull until, quite often, it was too late. There were even rumors of such deadly, underhanded abilities as shape-shifting and invisibility, but those were reserved for only the most powerful foxes.

Humans didn't have powers, or at least not to the extent that foxes did. Humans had chakra that they could control to slightly enhance their physical abilities, but they couldn't perform magic. If they could, if there was no secret power tipping the scales in the foxes' favor, Sasuke was sure there would be no foxes left in the world, and he would be leading the hunt. All they had were kunai crossbows that operated using a spring-launcher mechanism, the kunai themselves, and their bare hands.

From what knowledge they had, the number of tails a fox possessed seemed to correlate with its size and determine its overall strength, to an extent. There seemed to be only one nine-tailed fox—which was beneficial, considering it had towered as tall as the trees—and there had never been even a legend of any foxes with more than nine tails. Even seven-tailed and eight-tailed foxes were incredibly rare. Sasuke knew of only one eight-tailed fox, and the golden-furred terror had been slain by Danzo himself on the night of the Nine-Tailed Fox attack.

They also didn't have much information regarding how foxes interacted with one another or with the other creatures of the forest. Most smaller foxes were singled out from a group that tried to flee together, but the larger foxes had been found both with a group and without. It was always more convenient when they were alone. They had no evidence of any larger social structure, and Sasuke doubted one could ever exist. Foxes were cunning, malicious demons, especially the more powerful ones. The smaller ones stuck together simply for survival, but the larger ones didn't have that reason.

A slight rustle made him tense. Stupid! Focus on the hunt. He glanced around, senses on edge. After a few moments, however, nothing leapt out of the darkness, and he looked out at the trap they had set up in the clearing in front of them.

Only a recent trophy of his had made this hunt possible. He had been incredibly fortunate to stumble upon (not literally, of course) a lone four-tailed fox with Kiba a few days ago. It seemed to realize they were there, but displayed no outwardly dangerous powers. It didn't flee immediately, either, so they descended upon it and took its life before it had time to move.

Sasuke had recognized an opportunity as they traveled back to the village: use the slain fox's scent to attract another one, maybe even a greater-tailed one. Even if foxes didn't have kin to look for them, something was bound to investigate the scent at some point, and they were ready. They had rubbed the scent onto fake fur, though they didn't have time to match the exceptionally rare pale lavender color of the original on such a short timetable.

So in front of them lay the fake pelt. They had attempted to make it as innocent looking as any strange object could be in this forest, but they were counting on the curiosity or the stupidity of one of the forest's creatures. Not the safest bet, but they were prepared to defend themselves should they be immediately discovered. Aside from the crossbows they both carried, they had rigged several other crossbows with wire to go off should anything step close to the pelt. Those were hidden away in the numerous dark fissures in the tree roots, all pointing inward at the clearing.

Then Sasuke heard it—a faint rustling. Beside him, Kiba tensed. Good, they were on the same page. They both double-checked their crossbows, ensuring that their margin for error was as small as possible.

The rustling was coming from the front, so they lifted their crossbows to their shoulder, preparing for the incoming threat. However, the rustling soon turned into a loud crashing sound, as though large and small branches alike were being torn from their sockets.

Sasuke and Kiba exchanged glances. Whatever was coming was big. Very big.

Then the creature's form appeared in the blackness, and Sasuke had to stifle a gasp. This thing wasn't big, it was monstrous.

Before Sasuke could say anything, a gigantic snake burst into the clearing. Or at least its brown, scaly head; the rest of its body trailed into the darkness. Sasuke didn't even want to consider how long it was. Its head was definitely bigger than his entire body. He had encountered many snakes in his career, but never one as large as this one. He had no doubt that it could swallow him whole, and suddenly he realized that the likelihood of that being his fate was far too high.

The snake paused for a brief moment, tongue tasting the heavy air, as it seemed to consider its options. Its slit eyes roved the clearing, but Sasuke knew that their undoing would be the tongue (and the mouth, for if the digestion didn't kill them, the venom certainly would).

It was at this point that Sasuke wished their crossbows could fire more than one kunai at once. He also came to a chilling realization:

They were in hell, and no one had bothered to tell them until it was too late.

The snake made up its mind. Forgoing the pelt in the middle of the clearing, it lunged across, possibly aiming to eat both of them in one gulp. But before it could reach them, the snake tripped the rigged crossbows in the middle of the clearing, sending kunai flying at lightning speed directly into both of its eyes. Its screech deafened them, but they both managed to fire kunai into its mouth as well before diving out of the way.

Sasuke barely had time to consider the luck of the rigged crossbows' positions before the snake whipped around, running into trees as it attempted to pursue them. The loss of its eyes didn't seem to have much effect on its ability to locate them, though it did appear to be in a great deal of pain. Unfortunately, they had been forced to dive in opposite directions to avoid the snake's initial lunge, so now they were separated by its massive body.

Sasuke attempted to reload his crossbow as quickly as possible as he leapt up onto an oversized root in the clearing to get a safer vantage point. He realized far too late, however, that the snake wasn't aiming for him; it had turned toward Kiba, who had stumbled and was attempting to recover.

Sasuke watched in horror as the snake lunged again. Kiba had reloaded his crossbow, but he too realized too late what was coming. The snake's jaws clamped down on his body, one of its jagged fangs sliding right through his stomach. Kiba let out a bloodcurdling scream before raising his crossbow and firing it directly into the snake's upper jaw. Then he was gone; the serpent opened its mouth wide and he vanished, swallowed whole.

Shit. Kiba was gone. Dead. No, no time to think about that now.

Sasuke forced himself to focus as the snake swung around wildly, searching for its other prey. It only took a moment for it to pinpoint Sasuke's location, but its movements were frenzied as it lunged one more time.

But Sasuke was ready. The snake was almost finished. He blocked out everything that had just happened, ignoring the pain and fear of losing a comrade in such a horrible manner, and brought the crossbow up to his shoulder. As the snake opened its mouth wide to engulf his entire body, Sasuke fired, and the kunai lodged itself right next to the one that Kiba had fired earlier.

The snake screeched, but its momentum could not be stopped. Sasuke moved to jump out of the way, but the giant form clipped him as it soared past, sending him flying into the air. He saw the snake crash into a tree with a sickening crunch and realized that they might share the same fate. The ground was too far away and a tree was getting closer by the second. If he had been travelling feet-first, he might have been able to cushion the impact enough with chakra to not break anything. As it was, he was set to hit the tree on his side.

He could do nothing as the tree rushed toward him except hope that he could still make it out of this alive. But that hope was looking more dubious by the second. He only felt pain for an instant on impact before the world burst into blackness before his eyes.


	2. A Close Encounter

**Author's Notes: **This chapter is definitely shorter than the last one, but I wanted to get it out reasonably quickly to keep readers interested. In addition, I don't intend to make every chapter the same length. I break up chapters by content. A chapter ends wherever it feels suitable for it to end. But don't worry; I don't intend to dole out my story in little bits.

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><p><strong>44<strong>

**Chapter 2: A Close Encounter**

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><p>A small, red blur surrounded by darkness.<p>

"Mommy, is that you?" Hollow, far away.

The world vanished again.

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><p>Sasuke's return to full consciousness was wholly unlike his departure from it. He came back slowly; the world faded in as though someone had just turned on the sun and it took a minute to reach full brightness. Still, full brightness wasn't saying much. Only thin rays of full sunlight breached the heavy canopy of the forest.<p>

The pain was the second thing to come back. He found himself lying on his stomach with his left arm bent unnaturally under him. His head pounded, but it was nothing compared to the sharp, searing pain coursing through the appendage pinned beneath him. He gritted his teeth and carefully used his other arm to roll himself onto his back. From that position, the pain was more bearable. His left arm was definitely broken. Not good. He looked down at his clothing. Gashes of blood stained it throughout. Luckily, he seemed relatively intact. No loss of brain functions, though he realized that he probably wasn't the best judge of that.

He took a moment to compose himself and block out the pain as well as he could. He had to focus, assess the situation. Still on his back, he turned his head to the right. The forest looked about the same as how he'd left it—still as dark, and still as lifeless. The corpse of the giant snake lay smashed against the tree he'd been standing by before his unplanned flight. His instincts made him hesitate to call it a corpse for a moment, but he recognized that its skull wasn't quite the shape it should have been. The snake's had lunged much faster than he has expected. Otherwise, it wouldn't have clipped Sasuke on its way past or hit the tree with enough force to make a sizeable dent. On the bright side, he wouldn't die of hunger. However, he needed to get out of the forest before his wounds became infected. Or before something else came along. He was in no shape to fight another giant snake.

Sasuke decided he had completed his assessment of the area to the right of his body. He rolled his head to the left and met the eyes of the last thing he expected to see at that moment.

A fox. A small, ruby-red fox, with flecks of white and gold dotting its snout and paws. One tail swung lazily behind it as it sat near the pelt he and Kiba had used as a trap. Kiba—he winced at the memory. In body, Kiba was right next to him, inside the body of the dead snake. Sasuke hoped that his mind had gone to another place quickly. Being digested alive, he was sure, was a fate worse than death.

But back to the matter at hand. A fox sat in front of him, its eyes never breaking contact with his. It was small, probably barely coming up to his knees, but he wouldn't be fooled that easily. Foxes had so many tricks that he wouldn't be surprised if this one was a shape shifter. It could have eight tails for all he knew. It would probably toy with him before killing him, and Sasuke didn't think he could do anything about it. Where was his crossbow? His eyes darted away, scanning the area for where his crossbow had landed.

"Hello!" the fox chirped.

Sasuke froze and slowly looked at the fox again. Shit, it had just talked to him. He knew that the more powerful foxes possessed the mental capacity for speech, but he didn't think that one as small as this one was smart enough to communicate with him. But wait, it was still quite likely that this was a more powerful fox in disguise. He couldn't let his guard down. He began scanning for his weapon again, and pinpointed it beneath some brush not ten yards from him. It looked undamaged. He could only hope.

The fox didn't seem bothered by his lack of response. "What's your name?" it asked, tilting its head. It certainly sounded young, but Sasuke knew better than to trust appearances.

Sasuke carefully sat up, trying not to jostle his broken arm too much. His pain was mostly forgotten in the presence of a threat. He had to get to his weapon. He glanced down, ensuring that he had extra kunai strapped to his belt, and then back up at the fox. He had to keep it unaware of his intentions. If he slowly slid over to his weapon, he could hopefully load it and fire before the fox could transform back and attack. He now thanked the gods that he had taught himself to handle a crossbow with one hand. Giving out a bit of information as a distraction seemed like an intelligent move.

"Sasuke," he replied as he slowly began inching toward his weapon using his good arm. He didn't want to risk standing up and startling the fox. He wanted to minimize the risk of a swift, deadly counterattack.

"Really?" said the fox. "Wow, a human! Daddy doesn't let me go near humans, but he went looking for Mommy. Have you seen Mommy?"

Alarm bells went off in Sasuke's head. This could all be a trick to make him relax and let his guard down. But if it wasn't, and this fox really was just a kit, he could have two very angry, possibly very powerful parents set on him at any moment. It wouldn't matter whether he had actually harmed their kit; foxes didn't need a reason to maul a helpless human. However, his proximity to their kit might make his death even more painful. He tried to increase his speed as subtly as possible. Only a few more yards to go.

"No, I haven't," Sasuke replied, keeping the fox in his sight both in case it tried anything and to keep it ignorant of his true intentions.

"Daddy told me to stay in the den, but it was boooring. And now I made a new friend!" said the fox.

Sasuke almost sneered, but he caught himself just in time. A fox, his friend? He felt repulsed at the notion. Foxes didn't have any feelings except for the desire to torture helpless humans. And now that helpless human was him. But not for long. Just a few more feet. Sasuke gritted his teeth. He would have to be as fast as his injured body would allow.

He was there. He slowly slid himself between his crossbow and the fox, hoping to hide the piece of wood and metal for as long as possible. He slowly unclipped a kunai from his belt, and slid it into the chamber. The resulting click caused the small fox to perk up.

"What're you doing?" asked the fox. It stood up, tail swishing casually, and began trotting toward him.

Sasuke swore to himself. He didn't want the demon getting any closer. Time for action. He grabbed his crossbow and flipped it smoothly off the ground with his right hand. He pressed it against his shoulder to steady the weapon for the brief moment it would take him to line up the shot. He would have to make it perfect; there would be no second chance. Luckily, he was perfectly cool under pressure. That was why he was the best.

The small fox froze. Good, it recognized the crossbow. The brief moment of shock was all he needed. Something flashed in its eyes that seemed strangely familiar, but Sasuke ignored it. He needed to kill it before it could cry out and alert the rest of this damned forest to his presence.

Sasuke pulled the trigger, but just as he felt the spring mechanism activate, a loud boom deafened his senses, and a blinding flash of light made his eyes burn. He barely had time for shock before the world once again dissolved around him. His last sensation was a bizarre tingling in his broken arm.

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><p>Even before his thoughts came back, he felt the sensation of movement. His adventures into and out of conscious existence were almost getting tiresome. He felt completely drained; he recognized the futility of his attempts to become fully alert after only a few moments. Before he opened his eyes, he realized that he was being carried. The bony, protruding surface below him could only be someone's shoulder blades. Nothing else fit, and the coarse fabric rubbing against his head certainly wasn't fur.<p>

He blearily opened his eyes. The world was hazy, and he couldn't bring anything into focus. The pain from his broken arm felt strangely muted, even with the rhythmic jolts of the person's movement, and he was grateful. As he looked down from his position in the fireman's carry, he failed to miss the standard hunter camouflage and the neat row of kunai hanging from this person's belt. Who had rescued him?

Sasuke slowly managed to turn his head, but had to give up his struggle after a few moments. He didn't even have enough energy for that small movement. However, before his head dropped, he caught a flash of silver spikes on the man's head. He knew of only one man with silver hair, and the knowledge made him relax immediately.

Kakashi. He was saved.

His hearing picked up someone moving alongside them as they pushed through the forest. He sluggishly turned his head the other way and caught a glimpse of a red blur along the other hunter's belt area. The small fox? Had they killed it? He forced himself to look higher and barely made out a spiked protrusion of brown hair at the back of the hunter's head. Once again, he knew of only one hunter who fit that description, and his head dropped.

Shikamaru.

However they'd come to be there, he knew, short of his wounds bursting at this very moment, he was making it out of this forest alive. The thought seemed to sap the last of his energy. His eyelids drooped, and before he could say a word to his rescuers, he felt himself succumbing to a much more pleasant darkness.


	3. The Healing Smog

**Author's Notes: **I finally finished the outline of this story, so I know exactly how it's going to go, plot-wise. The only challenge left is actually writing it. (Easy, right?) As always, reviews, comments, and criticism are welcomed. I haven't been responding to reviews, but I promise I appreciate every single one. If you've got a burning question or insightful comment, I'm more than happy to reply.

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><p><strong>44<strong>

**Chapter 3: The Healing Smog**

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><p>Sasuke heard voices well before his mind had the ability to process them. They sounded like music, and now that he thought about it, whatever his head was resting on felt like heaven. He couldn't remember exactly why he felt so content at the moment, but he knew that this was much better than wherever he'd just been. He didn't mind not remembering. But apparently his subconscious mind didn't agree with him. The voices became progressively more distinct, and he was forced to acknowledge that wherever his head rested was actually quite hard and lumpy and that the fabric beneath him scratched at his free arm. Wait…free arm. Memories began flashing through his mind, quickly getting him up to speed and sending the pleasant feelings straight out the window.<p>

He mentally grimaced. Lumpy pillow, check. Scratchy sheets, check. Smell sharper than one of his kunai, check. He knew where he was. The hospital.

The voices were crystal clear now, despite the apparent attempts of their owners to speak in hushed voices. Probably for his benefit. Now that he could think clearly, he recognized one of the voices. Sakura. It should have made him happy to know she was here. After all, she was probably the one who put his broken arm in the cast he could now feel against his skin. One of the best medics in the village, she had risen quickly through the hospital ranks due to her superior intellect. He was proud, really he was. She wouldn't be his girlfriend if she wasn't talented in her field. For some reason, though, he really wasn't in the mood to see her right now.

He cracked open his eyes, carefully getting used to the unnaturally white hospital light. He hated this place. It acted as a physical monument to all of his failures. He was an Uchiha, and Uchiha were supposed to never mess up. But this time was even worse. Catastrophic, even. His partner was dead, and for what? He had nothing to show for it, except….

A question on his mind, Sasuke fully opened his eyes and turned his head to stare at the two chatting women on the other side of the room. White. The entire room was white. White sheets, white walls, white curtains. A flimsy wooden table next to the bed put a splash of brown on the landscape, but it didn't help much. Even the nurses' uniforms were white, making Sakura's shocking pink hair stand out even more.

Sakura looked over and caught his eyes, and she let out a gasp followed by a squeal. He winced as she rushed over to him, closely followed by the woman who he assumed, based on her clothing, was a nurse. Yeah, he really didn't need that right then.

Sakura gave him a quick hug and a kiss—both of which he was too numb to return, physically _and_ mentally—before switching to doctor mode. She checked the various machines hooked up to him, which he hadn't noticed up until that point, and began asking him routine questions.

"Any pain?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"Everywhere."

"Alright, that's expected. How does your arm feel?"

"It doesn't, thankfully."

Sakura pursed her lips, and Sasuke saw them begin to quiver. Oh God, here it comes….

"I thought I'd lost you," she whispered, and she swooped down to give him a longer, gentler hug. This one he carefully returned, keeping the white cast around his left arm in mind. He didn't want to take his relative lack of pain for granted just yet. His body ached, but the sharp pain in his arm from before was muted. They probably put something into him to keep it that way for a while, which was fine with him.

The nurse awkwardly made to leave. It was obvious they were done checking his vitals. He was alive, and for that he was grateful. But now he had questions that could only be answered by very specific people.

His throat was dry. "Sakura," he began, but movement by the door caught his attention. The nurse had shuffled aside to make way for a very important individual: Danzo, the Hokage. Just the man he wanted to see. Danzo, wearing the standard white and red Hokage robe and matching hat, stepped into the room.

Sakura noticed the new presence and straightened. Upon seeing Danzo, she bowed low. "Lord Hokage."

Danzo inclined his bandaged head. "Haruno Sakura. Our patient is doing well, I presume."

"Yes. We've set his arm and he appears to be recovering well in every aspect," replied Sakura.

"Good," said Danzo, as he turned toward Sasuke. "I expected nothing less from someone with your talent." Sakura beamed at his praise. "If his condition is stable," he continued, "I would like to discuss matters with Sasuke alone."

"Of course, Lord Hokage," said Sakura hurriedly. With one last glance in his direction, she shooed the nurse out of the room and stepped out, closing the door behind her with a soft click.

Assured of their security, Danzo allowed his features to relax slightly. At this, it struck Sasuke that the Nine-Tailed Fox attack had been cruel to the man. Sasuke had once accidentally glimpsed the jagged scars running down the normally-covered side of his face. He could barely imagine what Danzo had gone through, and it only increased his reputation in Sasuke's eyes that Danzo had received those scars from foxes. After all, they had been out for the blood of the innocent that night.

"I understand that you've been through a lot, young man," Danzo began. "However, some questions must be asked as soon as possible in order to ensure the safety of this village."

Sasuke nodded. Even if he didn't have all of the answers, he would do his best.

Danzo pressed on. "Unfortunately, first I must ask what happened to your partner, Inuzuka Kiba."

Sasuke swallowed. He knew that this would be a question, but it didn't make it easier to respond. "He's…he's dead. Definitely. He…a snake killed him."

Danzo nodded gravely. "I see. I presume that the snake swallowed him. Kakashi and Shikamaru noted the presence of an enormous dead snake in the vicinity of the blast, and a preliminary search revealed no body. His family will have to be notified immediately, and we'll have to arrange an extraction, if possible."

Sasuke frowned. Blast? "Yes…I killed the snake. But Lord Hokage, what do you mean by 'blast?'"

"I was hoping you'd be able to answer that, Sasuke," said Danzo. "The flash was visible even from the Hokage tower, and if that didn't get the village's attention, the bang certainly did. I dispatched Kakashi and Shikamaru immediately to investigate. They were the only ones willing and available on such short notice. "

Sasuke nodded slowly. Kakashi and Shikamaru had earned his gratitude. He would have to thank them when he next saw them. "I don't know what happened. One moment I was trying to kill a small fox, and the next moment, a flash of light knocked me out. The fox may have been the cause of it, but I can't be sure." The fox—he had to ask what happened to it. But another pertinent question popped into his mind. He paused. "How…how long was I out?"

Danzo thought for a moment. "It has been about a day and a half since the time of the blast. You've been mostly unconscious up until this point, from what Kakashi and Shikamaru told me. Luckily, no foxes got to you before they did."

Sasuke sighed. It was rather bizarre that nothing had gnawed on him while he was unconscious, but he wouldn't question his good fortune for now.

And speaking of foxes….

Sasuke met Danzo's eye. "Lord Hokage, if I may be allowed to ask another question."

"You may," said Danzo, still standing stiffly.

"What happened to the red fox that I saw Shikamaru carrying back with us? Did they kill it?" asked Sasuke.

"Hmm, it seems you were conscious at some point, at least," noted Danzo. He turned and made his way toward the window. Carefully raising the blinds, he peered out at the village. Sasuke blinked for a moment at the introduction of another light source.

Danzo seemed to finish his inspection, but he didn't turn back to Sasuke. "To answer your second question first: no, the young fox is not dead."

He took a breath, as though beginning a speech. His eyes never left the vista visible through the window. "Technology has advanced since the old days of hunting, since the founding of this great village. Foxes have always been a mystery. However, I don't believe they should be, or will be. I believe that the 'magical' powers of foxes can be studied, exposed, harnessed, and controlled. And since such a small fox was at the center of such a strange event, I believe it will be fruitful for this fox in particular to be studied, especially as it ages. We've taken it to my laboratory underneath the Hokage tower and will begin tests as soon as possible."

Sasuke nodded. He'd been to the laboratory before. Being one of the top hunters in the village had its perks. He'd been allowed to test out some new equipment that wasn't fit for public use quite yet. And Danzo's reasoning made sense. Any leg up they could get on foxes was a step in the right direction. Something clicked in the back of his mind. "This…" he began, "this is the secret project you've been working on, isn't it?"

Danzo let a small smile slip onto his features. He turned to look at Sasuke once again. "Perceptive. As I expected. Yes, this is part of my secret project, but it would appear it's not as secret as I would have liked. Still, you will be informed of the full scope of this project when the time comes. First, of course, you must recover. I believe our business here is concluded for now, so I will allow you to rest. However, I will expect a more detailed description of the circumstances surrounding these strange events at a later date."

Sasuke nodded. He did feel tired, though it seemed to be only late afternoon. He'd been through quite a bit recently, of course, so it was understandable.

Danzo closed the blinds and gave him one last nod before moving to the door. Without another word, he slipped out, and the door clicked shut behind him.

As a matter of fact, he was_ really _tired. Strange…he hadn't felt this tired a moment ago. Were they pumping something new into him? He had no way of knowing, and his energy was rapidly depleting. He decided that it didn't really matter. He was safe and back where he belonged. Everything was alright.

With that comforting thought, he surrendered himself to sleep.

* * *

><p>Sasuke awoke with a start, shivering. He knew he'd just suffered a night terror. He shook from the vague memories of blackness and colossal shapes in the smog. The worst part about night terrors was that there wasn't anything concrete there, nothing he could analyze or rationalize. It reminded him of his childhood. He often had night terrors as a child. <em>That <em>was easy to rationalize; a massive fox attack would do that to anyone, especially someone so young. He forced himself back to reality. The room was dark, almost pitch black. Small slivers of moonlight squeezed through the blinds, and his eyes slowly adjusted to the gloom.

Something was wrong. Horribly wrong.

First of all, the bed felt strange beneath him. He was curled at an incredibly strange angle, and his body felt out of proportion. His clothes hung loosely around him. In addition, his left arm felt…fine? He decided it felt strange, just like the rest of him, but it didn't feel broken. His cast was gone as well. He carefully sat up, shrugging off his misshapen clothing. Something was definitely wrong. His body was wrong. He waited a brief moment for the vague shapes around the room to come into focus, and looked down at his arm.

Paws. He saw black paws.

No. No no no no no no.

He was dreaming. Still dreaming. The night terror was just a ruse to cover up this new nightmare. He squeezed his eyes shut, ignoring the snout that had been protruding directly in front of his gaze. No matter how hard he tried to wake up, he didn't feel this hellish new body slipping away. The fur he could now feel everywhere stung him like a million needles.

Suddenly, a sensation of another appendage near his backside came to the forefront of his mind. In a panic, he twisted his head to look behind him, and at the same time, a black-furred tail swung forward, hitting him across the snout. The pain caused him to wince, and he quickly forced the tail back to where he couldn't see it. The sensation of controlling another limb felt alien, but the stinging sensation in his snout brought a horrifying realization crashing down on him.

This was reality. This was real.

He was a fox.

Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit.

He tried to climb out of the bed, but fell with a yelp and a deafening crash to the floor.


	4. Hell, Sanctuary

**Author's Notes: **I decided to get this out as soon as I could so that all five of my readers didn't agonize over the cliffhanger last chapter at the expense of their relationships and obligations. (That was both a joke about how few people are reading this and a joke overstating the importance of this story to said readership. I hope you all got a good chuckle out of it.) Well, don't let me keep you any longer. Here's the next chapter.

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><p><strong>44<strong>

**Chapter 4: Hell, Sanctuary**

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><p>The crash seemed deafening. Maybe his panicked state emphasized the noise, or perhaps his senses had actually become sharper because of his transformation. That thought brought him back to the fact that he was a fucking fox. He wasn't quite getting over that yet.<p>

As he struggled to orient his fox body from its awkward position on the floor, his ears twitched, picking up hurried footsteps heading down the hallway toward his room. The crash must've been as loud as he thought it had been. This was not good. He quickly untangled himself and stood up on all four paws, looking toward the doorway. It registered in his mind that he needed to hide. Or at least do something aside from just standing there…too late.

A nurse burst through the door, hitting the light switch in one practiced motion. "Mr. Uchiha, are you-?"

The lights came on, and the words died in her throat. She stood there, open-mouthed, and they had a staring match that seemed to last an eternity. His tensed body probably didn't help his current situation. He barely came up to her waist, but he probably looked ready to pounce. He had to do something.

"Nurse-"

She screamed and quickly slammed the door as she dashed into the hallway. He could hear her shouts echoing down the hallway as she put as much distance between them as possible. This was not good at all.

A brief moment later, the alarm began blaring.

Not good at all. The village-wide alarm system had been installed after the Nine-Tailed Fox attack, and it was to only be pressed in the direst circumstances, namely another fox attack. Apparently this qualified for that category. Whether the nurse was overreacting or not had no meaning now; at any moment, hunters and other defenders of the village would descend upon the hospital, armed to the teeth with weapons. He had no way to defend himself and, based on the nurse's reaction, no way to plead his case. At best, he would become a test subject in Danzo's master plan, just like the small fox they'd captured, but that wasn't any comfort. He had no way to prove that he'd been Sasuke not even a day ago. They might even think he'd eaten…himself.

And at worst, they'd kill him on the spot. He had to escape.

Before that thought fully formed in his mind, he felt a strange tingling sensation course through his body, like supernatural hands were stretching his body and adding weight. He felt heavier. Not only that, he felt…longer. As though something was growing out from behind him. He looked backward. No. Not again. Two tails. He had grown another tail, and everything around him seemed a bit smaller. Or maybe he was bigger….

Was this what other foxes went through when they grew extra tails? He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want any association with foxes. But his free will had been blatantly thrust aside, and now his home was a death trap.

The blaring alarm brought him back to the present. He needed to leave before he was surrounded, if he wasn't already. He moved over to the door, thanking the gods that the handles only had to be pushed down as opposed to turned. It was probably for the hospital staff's benefit, but now it had possibly saved his life. He tried to imagine grappling with the door knob if it had been round. The notion would have amused him at any other time.

Carefully prodding the door open with his snout, Sasuke peeked into the hallway. The lights were dimmed at night, and that could prove quite advantageous. He glanced down at his black fur in a silent moment of appreciation, then looked up again, scanning both directions the hallway lead. They were eerie at night, deserted, but not for long. He could hear pounding footsteps not too far off. Luckily, he knew the hospital layout pretty well, despite avoiding this place whenever possible. He took off in the opposite direction of the footsteps, looking for the nearest set of stairs. A glance at a passing sign told him he was on the third floor.

His fox body started to feel more familiar, as much as that sickened him. His mind adjusted well to having four legs instead of two. It seemed he'd been granted some fox instincts along with his new body. How convenient. Still, it was saving his life; he couldn't complain too much. His fluid movements and padded feet barely made any noise as he bounded down the hallway. Good. Maybe that would buy him some more time.

He reached a staircase and carefully climbed down. It was almost embarrassing how difficult stairs were with four legs, but he didn't have time to think about it. He reached the bottom, where an emergency exit glowed faintly in the semi-darkness. He hesitated for a moment, but realized this was probably his best chance of escape. The hunters had probably just reached his room by now, and, if they had all been informed of the details of this "crisis," were probably watching all of the main entrances, at least. He didn't like relying on the ignorance of his opponents to save him, but he had no other options in this situation.

He carefully pushed the door open, wincing at the additional alarm puncturing the already pulsing air. Well, now they knew someone had used an emergency exit. Hopefully that didn't set him back too far. He glanced around, but he'd come out on a more secluded side of the hospital, so he saw no one. However, this was no time to relax. He quickly crept across the street to the nearest alleyway, where he paused for a moment to consider his options.

Quite honestly, he had very few. He could attempt to hide in the village, but he had no way of knowing how long his…condition…would last, and the possibility of discovery was way too high for his liking. So the only other option was leaving the village, but where would he go? He would never get anywhere just running from place to place. What if his condition never went away without help? What if he had to find a cure to return himself to his real body? He could think of only two places this cure could possibly be. One, it could be with the little red fox imprisoned somewhere in Danzo's compound. At this point, attempting to find the fox would be utter suicide. Security was on high alert, and his compound under the Hokage tower was one of the most secure places in the village.

That left only one option, one he would never consider under normal circumstances. However, these were the farthest from normal circumstances he'd ever been in his life. Insane times called for insane measures.

He had to return to Area 44. The Forest of Death. The belly of the beast. But now he _was _a beast. How fitting. Very well, if that was his only chance to change back to normal, he would take it.

Mind fixed on his new goal, he decided to make his way toward the front gates. He once again lamented his reliance on chance. Hunters guarded the front gates at all hours, especially during a crisis. In fact, they might have already closed the gate, locking him in the village. He hoped that instead, they'd been called away to help at the hospital. Standard protocol was to close the gate during a crisis, but crises came along so rarely, and he was just one fox. He could only hope.

With that knowledge, he took off, padded feet masking his movement. As he wove through back alleys and between buildings, the alarm continued to blare, and he began to hear shouts and see flashlight beams as hunters desperately searched for him. So they'd figured out he had left the hospital. Luckily, his enhanced senses helped him avoid any surprise confrontations. He didn't want to have to hurt anyone. He would especially hate to encounter Kakashi or Shikamaru, not only because, out of everyone, he respected them the most as comrades; but also because, out of everyone, he respected them the most as comrades. As in they could probably kill him before he had a chance to react, no matter how familiar he became with this fox body.

Speaking of his fox body, he began to feel strange again. It was the same feeling as before, that feeling of expanding and lengthening. It almost caused him to trip, and he was forced to stop for a moment as a wave of dizziness accompanied this new change. The dizziness was absent last time, but he had no way of knowing which was natural. He looked behind him to find another tail waving in the slight breeze. Three. He had three tails. When would it end?

No time to think about that. He wasn't far now. He'd been zigzagging through the eerily abandoned village for a long time. He knew why it seemed abandoned, of course. Civilians were required to stay inside during a crisis unless the evacuation alarm went off. That left the streets deserted except for the patrolling hunters. It also helped that it was the middle of the night.

But now the end was in sight, literally. He finally reached the series of buildings directly in front of the gate. This was it. Was he free? He peeked out from behind the final building.

They were closing the gate. But it wasn't closed yet. There was hope.

There was a rather large gap between the outermost buildings and the wall, probably so that if the wall collapsed, it wouldn't destroy a sizable amount of the village on its way down. A reasonable decision, but now it presented a huge problem for him. Hunters lined the top of the wall, shining searchlights throughout the area in case he tried to escape. Well, they assumed right. But there was no time to consider the danger. The gate was almost shut.

He had to move. Now.

With that thought, Sasuke dashed out of his final sanctuary. He made a beeline for the gate, attempting to dodge the searchlights for as long as possible, but it was no use. A searchlight swung faster than he'd anticipated, and he was caught in a blinding beam of light.

Instantly, he heard shouts all along the wall. More searchlights pinpointed him, following his every move. And suddenly, a kunai thudded into the ground where he'd been a second before. They were firing their weapons. A moment after that realization hit, kunai rained down, and he was forced to move unpredictably in the hope of avoiding a surely fatal wound. Once he was hit once, it was probably over. Kunai hurt. He didn't think he could keep up his current speed if one was lodged in his back. Or it might kill him instantly. That option was always open.

Amidst this onslaught, the gate continued to close. It appeared that they sped up the process as soon as they spotted him. He struggled to push himself faster, but a realization hit him like all of those kunai at once.

He wasn't going to make it.

No! No, he had to do something. He had to make it. He couldn't give up. He couldn't die like this, a monster in his own home. But what could he do?

Chakra! He'd forgotten about chakra! Did foxes have chakra? Did it work the same as it did with humans? He could only hope.

Desperately attempting to channel chakra, Sasuke concentrated on his paws, on the feeling of speed that he desperately desired. And slowly, he felt himself moving faster. No choice but to move in a straight line. No time to think about the kunai. He pushed himself to his limits; his paws became mere blurs.

His fur brushed the massive gates as they swung closed with a loud boom behind him.

Even as the guards attempted to swing the searchlights around, he escaped into the trees, leaving the shouts and shrieking alarm behind. They slowly faded as he came closer to the towering tree line of the Forest of Death. There was no going back now.

He finally came upon the sole unbroken fence encircling the forest. Pushing more chakra into his limbs, he cleared the fence in one massive bound. He then navigated the myriad ruined remains of old, overgrown fences before the impenetrable canopy of the forest enshrouded him.

After an extended period of hopping across roots and pushing through underbrush, Sasuke finally decided that he was far enough into the forest that no human would find him, especially at night. He hoped that nothing else decided to find him, as he'd never felt more vulnerable. He felt chakra exhaustion gnawing at his senses, and with only slight hesitation, he buried himself underneath some bushes and collapsed into sleep.

* * *

><p>What woke him was the sound of rustling in the area. It took him a brief moment to come to his senses before his eyes snapped open and he tensed. He was a fox, and he was in the Forest of Death. Those two facts, lost in the bliss of sleep, came rushing back and made his ears twitch at the slightest noise.<p>

He carefully got up, but the crackling leaves underneath him made him wince. The rustling outside of his makeshift shelter ceased. Well, better see what fate awaited him. He'd rather find out while it was far away than have it find him in the bushes.

Sasuke carefully moved until his head broke through the leaves. The clearing in front of him actually had a decent amount of sunlight thanks to a few gaps in the canopy. The stillness of the forest once again put him on edge. The noise he'd heard had come from directly in front of him. Where had it gone?

"Hey!" Directly behind him.

Sasuke jerked, tumbling into the clearing. A combination of shock and instinct fueled his attempt to leave the immediate vicinity of the voice. He landed quite awkwardly on his back, and the first things he caught sight of as his vision straightened were his tails waving above him. Specifically that there were five of them. Had he grown more while he was sleeping? That was the only reasonable explanation, as reasonable as anything was right now.

"Ah, sorry! Didn't mean to startle you!" said the voice. Right, he couldn't forget about the voice.

He rolled onto his stomach, carefully scooting away from the unknown creature. However, what emerged from the brush directly into a beam of sunlight made his jaw drop.

It was a fox. A six-tailed fox that seemed a bit larger than him, but what really caught his attention was the fox's golden yellow fur that practically shimmered in the sunlight. Bright blue eyes gazed at him with curiosity.

It registered in the back of his mind that that fur would be worth a fortune.

The fox padded closer to him, forcing Sasuke to take a step back as he raised himself off of the ground. "You okay?" The fox seemed to grin. An odd sight. "Hey, I'm looking for someone. Actually, two someones. Could you help me…?"

He seemed to see Sasuke fully for the first time. He moved closer, sniffing the air. "Hmm, I don't think I've ever seen you before. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a pitch-black fox before. That's awesome! What part of the forest are you from?"

Sasuke stood there, dumbfounded. All sense of self-preservation went out the window for a moment. After a brief pause, the fox shook his head, laughing. "I'm sorry; Hinata would kill me for being so rude. Let me introduce myself before I ask a million personal questions."

The fox seemed to stand straighter, though his tails continued to swing lazily behind him. "My name's Uzumaki Naruto. What's yours?"


	5. A Deal with the Devil

**Author's Notes: **Thanks for all the positive feedback! Wouldn't want to keep you guys waiting too long for the big meeting. Just a mild warning, however: this was probably the hardest part of the story to write so far. I'm pretty satisfied with it, but I reserve the right, as with the rest of the story, to edit it at a later date. But for now, here you go. Reviews, comments and criticism are always welcome. Enjoy!

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><p><strong>44<strong>

**Chapter 5: A Deal with the Devil**

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><p>Uzumaki Naruto.<p>

He didn't quite know what to make of his current situation. The fox…Naruto…had introduced himself quite civilly. Perhaps foxes did have some code of ethics that he'd been previously unaware of. He decided to return the favor, considering he was deep in enemy territory. Any goodwill he could garner might help him in the long run.

"I'm U…Sasuke." Shit, he'd almost revealed his last name. He wasn't sure if the name Uchiha was as infamous with the foxes as he liked to think, but right now revealing that name would do no good. At the very least, it would cast an air of suspicion on their meeting that he had no desire to tarnish.

"Sasuke," said Naruto, testing the name on his tongue. "Well, nice to meet you! So, are you from around here? I was hoping you'd be able to help me."

He decided to be vague in his deception, to say nothing that could actually be cross-examined. He also decided to gather some information. "No. I travel around a lot, and I haven't been in this forest for too long. But you said you were looking for someone? Perhaps I met them at some point." The appearance of civility didn't hurt, either.

At that, Naruto perked up. Good, maybe there would be no more invasive questions. "Yeah, maybe! Well, I'm looking for Hinata and Kasei."

"Well, who are they? And why are you looking for them?" asked Sasuke innocently.

Naruto sighed. "Ah, right. Well, Hinata...she's my mate, by the way…she went out to get food for Kasei because he's not quite big enough to catch his own food yet. Kits, you know?"

Sasuke nodded sagely. No, he didn't know, but Naruto never had to know that. "So Kasei is your kit? Yours and Hinata's?"

Naruto grinned. "Yeah. So anyway…so Hinata went out to get food for Kasei while I stayed with him in the den. But she didn't come back by nightfall, which is weird, especially for her. So the next day I decided to go out and look for her and told Kasei to stay in the den. Of course, he didn't listen." He laughed sardonically. "I guess he takes after me."

Sasuke forced out a grin, and Naruto continued. "When I came back, he was gone. So for the past couple of days I've been looking for them. At first I thought Hinata or Kasei might have gone to some of the other foxes, which is why I wasn't as concerned as I am now. But no one has seen them. I'm looking for Hinata, too, but mainly Kasei. I mean, I don't understand why she would just run off, but she can take care of herself, I'm sure. Kasei's the one I'm really worried about."

Sasuke nodded. It was quite curious how open Naruto was being with him, despite the dangers of the forest and the fact that they'd just met. He chalked it up to naiveté. "So Kasei's the main concern. Alright, what does he look like?"

"Well," said Naruto. "He's definitely smaller than us. He doesn't really come up to my stomach yet. He's mainly got red fur, but there are specks of white and yellow along his snout and paws. I feel like you would remember if you've seen him."

Shit.

Sasuke's eyes widened and he stifled a gasp. Yeah, he'd seen Kasei. He'd tried to shoot him. And now Kasei was in the middle of the Leaf Village and his father stood in front of him.

What a messed up chain of events.

"Hmm…give me a minute to think," said Sasuke, mind working. He had to buy some time to digest this new information and figure out how to proceed. Luckily, Naruto bought his stall for time and seemed oblivious to his discomfort. Moron. Sasuke began pacing to appear deep in thought—which he was, but the subject wasn't what the golden fox thought it was. Sasuke's five tails swung lazily behind him as he moved.

This new piece of information brought all of the concerns he'd set aside for the moment back to the forefront. Here he was, standing next to the father of the kit somehow connected to his transformation. He wasn't kidding himself anymore. That strange explosion was too bizarre to have nothing to do with his current predicament. No other event in recent memory made sense, and now the drained feeling he'd been experiencing fit a larger, though bizarre, explanation.

What was he supposed to do? It wasn't his concern whether Naruto ever saw Kasei again, but how was he supposed to change back? The transformation might go away given enough time, but he wasn't holding his breath. He refused to wander aimlessly as a fox while he hoped and prayed for a solution when the culprit was in the place he knew best. But this new body complicated matters, and if he actually managed to find the kit, what then? Would he even know how to reverse the transformation? That was his best shot, though, so what could he do?

Sasuke glanced at Naruto out of the corner of his eye. The golden fox's jittery tails betrayed his appearance of waiting patiently. He'd only met Naruto moments ago, but based on his behavior so far, it seemed evident that his immediate family's safety ranked high on his list of priorities, unlike other foxes he'd encountered as a hunter. Perhaps he could use that to his advantage. He decided to use his previous alibi to extract more personal information out of him.

Sasuke turned to Naruto again. "I think I might recall someone who looked like your kit, but something's been bugging me."

Naruto bounced forward. "Really? You saw him? Wait, what's been bugging you?"

"I haven't been here for too long," began Sasuke, "but I've felt that's something off with that village next to the forest. What's going on with that?"

Naruto sighed. "Yeah, it's a hidden village. There are tons of hunters that come through this forest, so we have to be careful. I don't know…I just try to stay out of the way. I don't like hurting them if I don't have to." His eyes flashed. "But if they hurt someone I care about…I'll kill them."

Sasuke shivered. The air suddenly felt charged, heavy, as though invisible energy surrounded the place. He'd never felt anything like it. Was this the power of a six-tailed fox? He forced himself to calm down as the unseen presence lessened. Naruto seemed more composed after a few moments.

"So…." Sasuke swallowed. "If the hunters are a problem, why don't you just leave?"

Naruto shook his head. "I couldn't do that. This place is my home. It was my father's home and his father's home. This forest…there's just something about it. It's special, you know? It's a forest of memories."

Sasuke nodded, though he couldn't feel anything. To him, Area 44 was the Forest of Death. The forest just seemed dark and depressing. But he wasn't about to express that sentiment. Still, the knowledge he had just received made his course of action clear. Naruto had revealed what was important to him. It just so happened that their goals overlapped. And who would know the little fox…Kasei…better than his own father?

He had to reveal his transformation to Naruto. This barrier in their conversation couldn't be overcome without that knowledge out in the open. And it appeared that Naruto wouldn't kill him outright the moment he learned of that fact.

It was his only chance.

"Alright, Naruto," began Sasuke. "I think I know where your son is." Naruto's eyes lit up and he moved closer. Sasuke tried to take a few discreet steps back. He didn't want them to be too close when he revealed his secret. Just in case.

"And keep that in mind because of what I'm about to tell you," said Sasuke. Naruto tilted his head. Sasuke took a deep breath. "I'm not a fox."

For a moment they were both frozen. Then Naruto let out a loud guffaw. "Okay, seriously now. Of course you're a fox. I'd be able to smell if you weren't."

Sasuke shook his head. That hadn't gone the way he'd expected. "No, listen, I'm a fox, but I'm not supposed to be. I'm supposed to be human. But I was transformed into a fox by…by your son."

At this, Naruto's eyes went wide. Then they narrowed. "W-wait a minute…assuming that you were human…that this isn't just a sick joke…what were you doing near my son? You're a hunter?" The air began to feel heavy again.

Dammit, Naruto actually could be perceptive. He had to salvage the situation. "Yes, I was, but listen! I can help you get your son back."

"Back?" said Naruto, clearly on edge at this point.

Sasuke would have facepalmed if his body could have actually performed the action. That had not been the right thing to say at all. "Yeah…look, I was on a hunt when I came across your son, but I was knocked out by a flash of light. He's not hurt, but I'm sure he was the cause, and the effect, as you can clearly see, is this." He looked down at himself.

"I…I did hear an explosion," admitted Naruto. "When I got there, there was only the carcass of one of the elder snakes." Good, there was physical evidence to back up his explanation.

"But what did you mean by 'back?'" he asked, eyes narrowed. "I still don't know whether you're screwing with me or not."

"I wish I was," muttered Sasuke. "Well…the thing is, after your son knocked me out, I was picked up and taken back to the village by some other hunters…who also brought your son back with them."

The air around them flared. Sasuke was forced to take a step back as a sudden gust of wind buffeted him. The surrounding leaves shook. Naruto snarled. "Is he dead?"

"No!" Sasuke shouted, trying to defuse the ticking bomb that was the golden fox. The wind slowed slightly. "They took him back alive because they were curious about the blast. But I can help you get him back."

The wind died. Naruto stared him down, and Sasuke fidgeted uncomfortably. "Look, here's the deal. You need to get your son back. I know the layout of the village and approximately where he is. I can help you get Kasei back in exchange for returning me to normal. Do you know how to do that?"

Naruto seemed calm enough at that point. The golden fox took a breath. "You're not just joking with me, are you?" he asked weakly.

Sasuke shook his head. "What reason would I have? I'm about to lead you into a village full of hunters."

Naruto looked down. "Yeah, I guess so." He looked at the ground for a moment. Sasuke held his breath. When Naruto looked up, he hesitated for a moment, then smiled. "Yeah, I can change you back to normal if you help me get my son back. Foxes have a lot of powers you wouldn't know about, I suppose."

Sasuke nodded solemnly. The goal and the method were now clear. All that remained was action. He wasn't going to express his doubts regarding the success of the mission to Naruto, but they were there. Still, he was prepared to do anything to return to normal.

Naruto began pacing. "So…Sasuke…should we do this alone? Some of the other foxes would probably help us if I asked them."

Sasuke seriously considered that option for a moment, but then dismissed it for various reasons. For one, he wanted as few foxes around him as possible. They might not all be as…welcoming…as Naruto. He didn't want their agreement messed up by other parties. In addition, a smaller operation was probably better in this case. More efficient. Deep in "enemy" territory, he didn't want to have to keep track of multiple people, especially when one of them was Naruto. The golden fox didn't strike him as the stealthy type, despite being a fox.

"No," said Sasuke. "It would probably be best if we went alone. That will reduce the chance of detection." He paused, a new thought crossing his mind. "However, there's something else that you can do. You're going to need my help throughout this mission, so I need to know more about this fox body before we head out so that there aren't any nasty surprises. You're the resident expert, so the job of teaching me falls to you."

Naruto nodded, tails waving behind him. The idea of a mission seemed to put him in a better mood. "Alright, I see your point. But don't expect me to tell you _all_ of our secrets." Was that a joking tone? Either way, fair enough. It wasn't like they were pals or anything. They were different species, opposing forces. They might even meet later, with Naruto on the wrong end of his crossbow.

Naruto bounced on his paws. "So when should we leave? You're the one who knows what we're getting into." His body language made it quite clear when _he _wanted to leave.

Sasuke looked up at the slivers of sky visible through the canopy. The backdrop had taken on a vaguely pinkish-orange color, indicating evening. Night would probably be the safest time to proceed, so the timing was perfect. He indicated this to Naruto.

"Alright then," said Naruto, grinning. "'Operation: Rescue Kasei' begins tonight."


	6. A Preparation

**Author's Notes: **Wow, it looks like this story might be picking up in readership as well as plot. A big thank you to everyone because you all gave me fantastic reviews. I'm sorry that this chapter took a while; it was quite difficult writing the dialogue and interactions, even more so than the last chapter. Just a note: I made some minor changes to the ending of Chapter 5, so if you're curious you can go back and reread that before continuing. As always, please call me out on any mistakes and, above all, enjoy!

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><p><strong>44<strong>

**Chapter 6: A Preparation**

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><p>Before the big rescue mission could commence, Sasuke and Naruto had some operational issues to take care of; mainly, they needed food.<p>

Naruto, being adept at food-gathering considering his status as full-time fox, left Sasuke alone for a brief span of time in order to catch something for them to eat. Sasuke offered to accompany him—he wanted to see a six-tailed fox in action, even if said action was merely catching venison—but Naruto declined, saying Sasuke would only slow him down. The notion stung his pride, but Sasuke refused to reveal his feelings. Quite honestly, Naruto was probably right. So the golden fox vanished into the foliage, and the sounds of his movements slowly faded into the coming night.

That left Sasuke with more time to consider his situation and the potential outcomes. Essentially, they had to succeed or else it could mean death for both of them. He doubted the hunters would show the same mercy they'd shown Kasei. After all, they were both full-grown foxes. He knew he wouldn't think twice before shooting a six-tailed behemoth, no matter what the circumstances, considering one second was all they needed to strike a killing blow. He knew he wouldn't hesitate to shoot Naruto if he was attacking, especially based on the power he had displayed not long before.

Naruto. He didn't remotely know what to make of the golden six-tailed fox. He didn't act like any other fox he'd ever encountered, but he supposed that could be attributed to his newly-established fox-hood. His loyalty to his kin proved useful, at least. Was being so open just one of Naruto's tricks? He wouldn't be surprised. Sasuke pondered that train of thought for a while.

Rustling in the bushes made him tense. For a moment it had escaped him that he was in Area 44, the Forest of Death. The trees suddenly looked menacing; the roots slithered out to grab his tails and pull him into the darkness. He imagined the giant snake, jaws open, lunging from the gloom. Even in the daytime it had been terrifying. He could barely imagine the experience at night. Sasuke shook his head, dispelling his dark thought. Listening intently, he picked up more rustling coming his way. He backed up into the brush. It could be Naruto coming back from his hunt, but he wasn't going to just sit there like an idiot in case it wasn't.

His fears were unfounded. Naruto hopped into the clearing and dropped something clamped in his jaws before looking around. "Sasuke?" asked Naruto, scanning the area more carefully. The sound of Naruto's voice and his faint scent—something Sasuke was starting to pick up on—made him relax. Speaking of idiots…what if he'd been attacked while Naruto was away? The golden fox could've easily stumbled blindly into an ambush. He'd have to reprimand him. He wouldn't allow Naruto's foolishness to compromise the mission.

"Here," said Sasuke, carefully extracting himself from the bushes and moving across the clearing to Naruto.

"What were you doing in there?" asked Naruto, cocking his head to the side.

Sasuke scowled…or did what he hoped translated into a scowl. "Hiding, you moron. How was I supposed to know it was you? And also, how were you sure I was still here and in one piece? You could've killed yourself by walking into a trap."

Naruto seemed completely unfazed by his words. "It's no big deal. It's not like there's anything that could…or would…hurt me around here. This is fox territory."

Sasuke bit back his retort and almost asked him what he meant by "fox territory," but the golden fox continued without acknowledging his annoyance. "And anyway, I could smell you. But I brought us food!" With that, he nudged what Sasuke determined to be a rabbit from his feet over to Sasuke while keeping another for himself.

It honestly hadn't quite occurred to Sasuke that he'd have to eat raw meant up until that point. The thought disgusted him, but he recognized how disadvantaged he would be on the rescue mission on an empty stomach. Watching Naruto promptly begin tearing at his own rabbit in what he could only describe as a mad frenzy, Sasuke's disgust increased. He leaned down and sniffed his rabbit, and found it actually smelled decent. Impulsively, he bit into it, and it tasted…quite good, actually. Trying not to think too hard about his actions, he let his new fox instincts lead him as he consumed the meat.

Naruto, who had finished long before him, sat nearby, waiting expectantly for him to finish. After he was done, Sasuke licked his chops but looked away from Naruto's grin. He would never admit that he'd quite enjoyed the meal. After all, his fox body was the culprit.

The Forest of Death had grown dark during their dinner. Sasuke noted that the lack of light didn't affect his senses much. For that, he was grateful; his enhanced vision prevented the surroundings from seeming like one black void, as though he was inside a closed coffin. Instead, he could still see the enormous, looming trees, the patchy clearing, and, most importantly, Naruto.

Sasuke cleared his throat. "So…Naruto, we have some things to discuss before we head out. It's not quite late enough yet, anyway."

Naruto nodded, six tails waving behind him. Sasuke watched their motion and became acutely aware of his own five tails. Which brought him to his first question: "So…do you have an explanation for why I have five tails? And what causes new tails to grow? I know it's related to a fox's strength, but that doesn't explain my current position."

Naruto pondered this for a moment. "Alright, well…in general, yes, you're right; the number of tails a fox has determines its strength. I mean, some foxes are just innately stronger than others, of course. One fox's five tails might be another fox's four tails, power-wise, and so on. As for you having five tails…I don't know, when did they grow? Actually, what happened between when you turned into a fox and now?"

Sasuke didn't see any harm in replying truthfully. "Last night, when I woke up—I was still in the village at this point—I was transformed and had one tail," said Sasuke. "Between then and my escape from the village, I grew two more. When I woke up in the Forest of…in the forest, I had two more. I'm assuming they grew while I was sleeping. Is it normal for tails to grow that fast?"

Naruto shook his head. "No. Actually, it's really strange. Normally it takes _years _for a fox to get more tails, if they grow more at all."

At this, Sasuke's eyes widened. Years? That was an enormous amount of time compared to one night. It had to be related to his special status as temporary fox, surely, but _years_? "Is it always just a matter of time? Or can anything else make another tail grow?"

"Yeah, there are other ways," said Naruto. "Traumatic experiences or extreme stress can also cause tails to grow. I guess finding yourself transformed into a fox counted as one hell of a traumatic experience, huh?"

Sasuke gave a noncommittal grunt, still mulling over the new information. Naruto seemed to share his bewilderment, as he said, "So, do you have any powers? I mean, I'm basing everything off of what's normal. I know you're far from normal, of course…."

Sasuke shook his head again. Having some sort of special power would certainly help on their upcoming rescue. He wasn't holding his breath, though. "No, I don't have any that I know of. That's not normal?"

"No," said Naruto, "Generally, foxes start to develop their unique powers at around two or three tails. By five, you should definitely have them pretty developed. In theory, a fox's powers keep expanding as they grow more tails. As…as you've probably seen, there are less and less foxes at each higher number of tails."

Sasuke noticed Naruto's stumble. The golden fox obviously wanted to ignore his former self's identity as much as possible. He wasn't going to play that game, though. He wanted information, sensitivity be damned. "So the max number of tails is nine, then?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, at least as far as my father knew, and he knew a lot. There's never been even a legend of a ten-tailed fox that he'd heard of. And now there isn't even a nine-tailed fox…." After a moment, he realized what he'd said—and everything it might mean to Sasuke—and looked over at his partner, trying to gauge his reaction.

"Yes, because we killed it," said Sasuke brusquely. He realized after the fact that his words might have made Naruto angry, and animosity between them could jeopardize the mission, but Naruto treating him like a china doll about to shatter increasingly annoyed him. He wouldn't take his statement back. It wasn't like he hadn't meant it; that bastard Nine-Tailed Fox deserved it for everything it had done.

Naruto, however, merely gazed at him. Sasuke felt shivers run down his spine at the sudden staring contest, the scrutiny of Naruto's gaze, but he refused to be the first to look away. He had meant to cause Naruto some amount of distress with his statement, and he wouldn't take it back. For a brief moment, he entertained the idea that this battle of wills would decide the honor of the fallen Uchiha. He had their eyes, and with them he would stare the enemy down and avenge their senseless deaths. Naruto's stare grew more and more penetrating, and Sasuke noted that his blue eyes grew softer and softer as they seemed to stare through him. He seemed…sad? That only made Sasuke even angrier. Why was the damned golden fox sad? What did it matter to him? What right did he have?

The long moment passed. Naruto looked at the ground. Silence reigned. The forest seemed to be holding its breath, and the moonlight shining through the canopy in thin rays added an even more unnatural mood to the scene.

"My father died that night, too."

The words, spoken with a quiet strength, carried a message of loss beyond their means. "Too." Naruto's attempt to convey their shared suffering, and his recognition of the departed souls Sasuke had never mentioned that took something personal from Sasuke's life amidst the mass tragedy. It was as though Naruto had seen the faces of his lost clan staring out through his dark eyes.

Sasuke's anger slowly deflated. His mind briefly responded, "Good," in spite, but the word died long before it reached his mouth. He felt drained. He'd spent so long pushing the memories of his family to the back of his mind, and now he remembered why. Because it hurt.

Naruto slowly looked up again, meeting Sasuke's eyes. This time, Sasuke looked away. "But…" he began. "But then I met Hinata, and she's wonderful. She's the nicest person I've ever met, and she's even nice to _me_." He let out a short bark of laughter. "And now look at us. We've got a family. I mean, sometimes things turn out alright, you know?"

That didn't mean anything to him. Who did he have? He had Sakura…but she could never compare to what he'd lost. He was lost. He saw his dead parents, his father's rough, worn face, his mother's soft, warm hands. And he saw Itachi. He saw his brother twirling a kunai on his finger. He saw him pushing a strand of hair out of his face. The little things, the tiny gestures that he'd never see again.

Itachi, what should he do?

Itachi didn't answer. He couldn't, would never again. He was gone. Everyone was gone.

"We should get going." Naruto's soft words brought him back. Naruto seemed to pick up on his despair but had nothing else to say. All the better; Sasuke didn't want, didn't need him to say anything. He didn't need anyone. After all, there was no one here for him to need.

"Yeah," said Sasuke. The mission—that was all there was. He had to get back to normal. How could he live with himself while sharing the form of the beasts that snuffed out lives like a thousand candles?

He looked over at Naruto, but all he saw were those eyes…those eyes…staring back at him. He looked away. What was up with those eyes?

He blocked out everything. He closed his eyes, focusing on the winding, metallic corridors of Danzo's underground base. The familiar landscape brought him comfort. They could do this. They had to. His eyes flashed open.

"Let's go."

With that, they leapt away, leaving behind an empty clearing and two empty rabbits.


End file.
